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12 ASIAN TOURISM GUIDE 2012/2013CambodiaContinued from previous columnTop 10 source markets in 2011Countries Arrivals % ChangeFrance 117,408 3.6%Thail<strong>and</strong> 116,758 -21.7%Australia 105,010 12.2%UK 104,052 1.0%Top 10 source markets in 2012 (January to August)General overviewOfficial name Kingdom of CambodiaCapital Phnom PenhPopulation 14.7 millionTotal area 181,035km 2Currency Riel, but the US dollaris widely usedOfficial language KhmerBangkok • CambodiaPhnom Penh •Ho ChiMinh City• SingaporeRatanakiri •Siem Reap •Phnom Penh• SihanoukilleCountries Arrivals % ChangeVietnam 520,165 27.3%South Korea 287,210 26.2%China 207,617 31.0%Lao PDR 151,771 90.1%Thail<strong>and</strong> 123,227 83.0%Japan 115,440 11.6%US 114,347 12.7%France 82,795 6.5%Australia 74,195 13.2%UK 73,952 4.9%Source: Ministry of Tourism, CambodiaCambodia welcomed 24.5 per cent more international visitors in the firsteight months of 2012. Growing air links <strong>and</strong> the development of qualityaccommodation – especially along the coast – have been instrumental infuelling this strong performance.Cambodia welcomed even more air links in 2012, including Tiger Airways’daily Singapore-Phnom Penh services <strong>and</strong> Condor Airlines’ weeklyFrankfurt-Siem Reap flights. From February 20, 2013, Qatar Airwayswill extend its daily Doha-Ho Chi Minh City service to Phnom Penh.Cambodia’s <strong>tourism</strong> product was strengthened when Cambodia AngkorAir debuted a service between Siem Reap <strong>and</strong> Sihanoukville wherevarious five-star hotels have opened. For the first time, it was possiblefor visitors to Cambodia to combine Siem Reap’s cultural heritage witha beach resort holiday.Tonle Sap Airlines has also been a boon to Cambodia’s <strong>tourism</strong> sector,having launched flights between Siem Reap <strong>and</strong> China’s Beijing, Ningbo<strong>and</strong> Shanghai, <strong>and</strong> Taiwan’s Taipei <strong>and</strong> Kaohsiung.Tourism earnings is expected to hit US$2.2 billion in 2012.ClimateAverage temperature 27°C to 28°CAverage rainfall 1,000 to 1,500mmAverage humidity 80 to 90 per centBest time to visitDecember <strong>and</strong> January are cool <strong>and</strong> dry <strong>and</strong> are consequentlythe most pleasant time to visit Cambodia. Thedry season continues into April, when Cambodia is at itshottest with temperature of around 34˚C. Although therainy season lasts from May to October, rainfall occursmostly in the late evening <strong>and</strong> during the night <strong>and</strong> donot disrupt travel throughout the kingdom.Visitor arrivals <strong>statistics</strong>Between January <strong>and</strong> August 2012, a total of 2,334,793visitors arrived in Cambodia, representing a growth rateof 24.5 per cent over the same period in 2011. Only 47.7per cent arrived by air through Phnom Penh <strong>and</strong> SiemReap, while half of all arrivals crossed into Cambodia viaits l<strong>and</strong> borders with Thail<strong>and</strong>, Laos <strong>and</strong> Vietnam. Theremaining 2.3 per cent came via a waterway.Relative peace on the Thai-Cambodia border hasgiven visitor arrivals from Thail<strong>and</strong> a shot in the arm,growing 83 per cent from 67,340 (January-August 2011)to 123,227 for the same period in 2012. Visitor arrivalsfrom Laos grew by a stunning 90 per cent in this periodcompared to the same period in 2011.Arrivals from the rest of the top ten markets remainedunchanged for the first eight months of 2012.Total tourist arrivals2010 2.51 million, +16.0 per cent2011 2.88 million, +14.9 per cent2012 (January-August) 2.33 million, +24.5 per centTop 10 source markets in 2011Countries Arrivals % ChangeVietnam 614,090 19.4%South Korea 342,810 18.3%China 247,197 39.2%Japan 161,804 6.6%US 153,953 5.4%Lao PDR 128,525 39.3%Continued next columnNTO budgetThe Ministry of Tourism of Cambodia continues tomarket the destination under the Cambodia-Kingdom ofWonder br<strong>and</strong>ing <strong>and</strong> using the tagline Clean city, cleanresort <strong>and</strong> good service. All of the ministry’s marketingactivities <strong>and</strong> operation are funded by a tight budget ofUS$4.5 million in 2012.Hotel developmentsOne of the most important hotels to open in Cambodiain 2012 is the Song Saa Private Isl<strong>and</strong> Resort, a luxuriousresort developed across two isl<strong>and</strong>s – Koh Ouen<strong>and</strong> Koh Bong. Song Saa in Khmer means “sweethearts”<strong>and</strong> the resort’s over-water, jungle <strong>and</strong> ocean-view villascomm<strong>and</strong> rates ranging from US$1,595 to US$5,153 pernight in the high season.The resort has been marketed strongly in Europe <strong>and</strong>the US, <strong>and</strong> besides luring visitors to the destination, itdraws attention to Cambodia’s aspiration to becomebetter known as a beach destination that rivals its betterknown neighbours.With direct flights to Sihanoukville from Siem Reap,the resort is just a 15-minute drive from SihanoukvilleAirport <strong>and</strong> a short boat ride away. From Phnom Penh,guests can choose between a three-hour overl<strong>and</strong> transferby Song Saa’s fleet of BMW 5 series limousines or booka helicopter transfer operated by Helicopters Cambodia.Adding further to the choice of quality accommodationin Siem Reap <strong>and</strong> Phnom Penh is the Frangipani VillaHotel Group which operates two hotels in Siem Reap<strong>and</strong> four in Phnom Penh. These are all in the four-starcategory <strong>and</strong> are tastefully decorated according to variousart-centric themes.New hotels in 2012 / 2013• Sokha Phnom Penh Hotel, 798 rooms• Thansur Bokor Highl<strong>and</strong> Resort, 418 rooms• Emario Hotel <strong>and</strong> Resort, room count unknown• Sokha Bokor Hotel, 600 roomsNew attractions/<strong>tourism</strong> infrastructureSociété Concessionnaire de l’Aéroport (SCA) operatesCambodia’s three international airports in Phnom Penh,Siem Reap <strong>and</strong> Sihanoukville under a 25-year concession<strong>and</strong> in 2011, Phnom Penh <strong>and</strong> Siem Reap airportsh<strong>and</strong>led 1.84 million <strong>and</strong> 1.82 million passengers respectively.Strong growth trends have continued into 2012 (11per cent growth for Phnom Penh <strong>and</strong> 24 per cent for SiemReap, year-to-date), with Siem Reap’s passenger throughputexpected to surpass Phnom Penh for the first time.SCA will soon begin works to exp<strong>and</strong> the passenger terminalsof both Phnom Penh <strong>and</strong> Siem Reap airports <strong>and</strong>when completed in 2014 <strong>and</strong> 2015 respectively, both willbe able to h<strong>and</strong>le five million passengers per annum.Uniworld River Cruises’ 15-day programme along theMekong River on its luxurious vessel, the River Saigon,has been a great success. The cruise starts from Ho ChiMinh City <strong>and</strong> ends in Hanoi, with various stops in Cam-